Small Space Living

[knotdonne]

Ikea has this version https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40186633/

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

....
Rather than standing on your head, trying to figure out how to hold the pieces together so as to withstand daily “thrashings” and “beatings”, IB, ...

This is not a “van living” problem, sweetie, but one you seem determined to create.

Seriously, these are not inexpensive, and certainly not made to withstand aggressive daily beatings by their human owner.

Perhaps lash together tightly, back off some on how to keep them clean.

Maggie

The day came which I knew would eventually come, when I was awakened from a dead sleep by that unmistakable sequence of sounds:

heave, heave, heave, heave, SSSSPLATTT!!

...as our woods-loving dog regurgitated all of the Interesting Things that she had foraged and sampled with her mouth the day before. Vomit spewed all over the Flor tiles (or as my aerospace husband notes, "We don't use the word vomit - call it 'emesis' on the Space Station").

I did, indeed, take the entire stinking hot mess down to the lake and throw it in, in preparation for the soap scrub, as I knew I always would.

And as someone else noted on this topic, Flor is a luxury good. It has the durability and quality expected of a luxury good (too bad the same thing can't be said about Airstream). After being beaten and scrubbed clean of emetic fluids and literally dragged wholesale through the lake, the tiles were as good as new. They dried perfectly in the sun, no degradation noted. A darned good choice for #vanlife.

[tomquinnjr]

Mat be of some help.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/0...9r2EKOSIo_7TmY

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

BTW, this is what I had intended for those acrylic organizer cups I installed last week. .....

And I know that some people don't like seeing disposable food ware, but when I'm on the road traveling long distances, especially when I'm traveling alone, there is no way I'm going to stop to do dishes. I'm eating out of plastic, cardboard, and paper wraps. When I get to a campsite, that's another scenario, and I can take the extra time to use regular dishes.

Anyway, I like this combination... it's acrylic on acrylic. Reminds me of my visit to MOMA.

So I started storing cutlery like that ^^ two years ago, and I really liked the efficiency of it.

What I found, though, is that I rarely have to throw the plastic ware away. Even if we are eating off paper plates, I can always accumulate the dirty cutlery in a gallon zip-lock bag and store it in the microwave until I get to a place where I can wash it.

Fast forward to now, and what that means is that I've now been using a lot of this disposable acrylic ware for two years. And it was never designed to be used like that, so it's now very brittle. I spent a month on the road snapping knives in cheesecake and butter, snapping spoons as I dug into stews, snapping fork tines as I stabbed things.

Also, at my summer property I wash dishes directly in the lake. When I accidentally drop a piece of transparent cutlery in the lake, it's almost impossible to see and retrieve (!).

Ergo, I decided to replace it, but I need a large quantity, given that I may go five days between washings.

-- It can't be metal (too heavy to carry in quantity)
-- It can't be expensive (because I need a lot)
-- It can't be flimsy (because it'll break under frequent use)

There's plenty of great camping cutlery on the market, but most of it is really expensive - $3 to $10 per piece, because they figure you are just going to carry at most three pieces in your backpack.

This GSI stuff is $3.50 for a 3-piece set. I bought six sets to start with, to try it out as a replacement.

[Mansderm161]

I like the cutlery...esp. color. Goes great with our rigs. Will look into. Thanks

[Pahaska]

I bumped into these sets of three zippered canvas envelopes at Lowe's and could not resist buying a set. They are very sturdy and have strong zippers. There is a place to label each of them with a card. They slip into the odd places where few things fit.

I constantly find that I need a screwdriver of some description when all of my tools are stored away in the back and I have to get out and open the back doors. I now have all of my screwdrivers in the yellow envelope and it slips into a niche between plastic tubs in my overhead storage.

The bags have a loop on one corner and can be hung with the included carabiner.

[Lily&Me]

Nifty!

I love soft sided items that take nicely to odd spaces.

Maggie

[InterBlog]

A very minor space-saving mod here - paper towels moved to the top of the closet interior and held in place with a small bungee cord. This holds the roll firmly against the door, so that it will not unroll itself due to gravity. When the door closes, it fits into the void space above the shelf.

Oh, but this is just a prelude for the thing of beauty that will follow...

[InterBlog]

ELFA, BABY!!



Prediction: Bugs will enjoy this one.

It just so happens that the Container Store’s 14-inch ELFA baskets fit the T1N Interstate’s cabinetry like hand in glove. I had to use a reciprocating saw to cut down the metal frame to fit in there, and I also had to loosen (unscrew) various cabinetry structural members to get it in, then tighten them back up again when finished (if anyone decides to do this mod, ask me for more details). And I drilled holes in the frame so that I could L-bracket it to the floor of the cabinet. It was an easy project that did not require my husband’s participation.

I still have to add stoppers so I don’t accidentally pull the drawers all the way out, but I’ve been on the road for about 4 days with no problems noted. The ELFA frame appears to be sturdy enough to stand up to road vibrations.

As usual, none of my instructional vids exceed a minute in length. I’m iPadding right now so it might not embed a preview:

EDIT: The ELFA unit is recessed because I wanted to retain my paper plate dispenser on the door, and I needed the clearance. That’s why I’m pointing to it.

https://youtu.be/PNdOVdKc0g0

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

... At some point, someone recommended this little heater called a Vornado. It’s great. In true gomboc style, it really won’t tip. I put a waffle-weave silicone pot holder under it to absorb vibration and prevent a hum from transmitting through the cabinet. It’s a good use for the pot holder. Silicone does not burn in a typical sense of combustion. If the temperature ever gets too high, it just crumbles into a white ash with no flame (ask me how I know this).

Attachment 328394

Update on this Vornado which was recommended earlier on this thread --

I've now spent 3 nights in freezing temps but with an electrical hook-up, in defiance of my typical boondocking m.o. Much of Texas has now had 5 consecutive days with night-time temps in the range of 25 to 35 degrees F. This is extremely unusual, and we don't have much experience camping in it.

While hooked up, I prefer to use the Vornado rather than the onboard propane furnace, which clunks on and clunks off all night long in a very disturbing fashion. The Vornado produces a low steady white noise.

However, this model lacks the ability to self-regulate, and is too crude for routine use. I keep experiencing runaway cold, OR, runaway hot because of it. It took me 3 nights to figure out why this was happening, and it goes like this:

-- As temperatures fall during the night, the air being sucked into the Vornado gets colder and colder. As a result, it puts out colder air, which then contributes to the fact that it's progressively getting colder.

-- Similarly, during the day when the ambient temperatures increase, it sucks in warmer and warmer air, and puts out warmer air, and continues to escalate.

I guess I was expecting that this little device would include some kind of crude thermostat that would prevent these feedback loops from occurring, but it does not seem to. It's either in an upward or a downward temperature spiral all the time (while I'm awake, I've modulated that tendency by supplementing with the propane furnace).

Time to shop for another electrical heater. I still love the safety features of this one, however, especially the gomboc-ish shape.

[Pahaska]

I use two ceramic heaters. One is just 350 watts and I keep that running on the galley counter close to our twin beds. Very quiet and it has no thermostat.

The other heater is kept forward in the door area and does have a thermostat. That one can be switched to half or full power. I have that one plugged into an outlet that I installed on the end face of the galley counter. That outlet is fed from a useless outlet in the rear that is hidden away under my twin bed modification. That provides an outlet in the front that is not on the inverter.

We usually stay warm down to about 30 with the little heater on full and the big heater at half-power. This worked well for us last week at Cleburne, near Fort Worth, when it dipped to freezing.

[Lotus54]

The Vorando I have seems to regulate quite well. I wonder if yours has a defect. (Perhaps a different model?)

I have it plugged in right now in the driveway on 58º - since it was getting sort of ‘damp’ feeling.

[Lotus54]

My mistake - I said 58º, but 60º is as low as it goes...
But still seems to keep the temp well.

I’ve used it in a room to keep ale fermenting at 70º and it works well for that as well. (More satisfying results though).

Mark

[InterBlog]

I thought that we were going to have to take a non-Interstate trip, so I bought this little silicone collapsible kettle to use in hotel rooms (I don't drink coffee - I drink tea, and I need a decent water-boiling device).

Then we decided to take the Interstate. I decided to keep this anyway for convenience, and because there are times when I wish I didn't have to fire up the propane stove every time I want hot water. I gained a lot of use-able space when I put in the Elfa drawer unit. This flattens well enough to fit in the shallower drawer next to the Corelle cereal bowl stack.

It's called a Gourmia GK320 Travel Foldable Electric Kettle.

[Lily&Me]

That’s pretty cute, IB, and inexpensive.

I usually carry one of those coil immersion heaters, but this has a lot more class.

Maggie

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

That’s pretty cute, IB, and inexpensive.

I usually carry one of those coil immersion heaters, but this has a lot more class.

Maggie

Gosh, I hate those coils. About six weeks before we bought our Interstate, we drove my Toyota minivan from Houston to Nova Scotia. We stayed in Manhattan for several days as part of that trip. We had this fancy hotel, a bucket list kind of thing, directly on Central Park, and NO COFFEE POT IN THE ROOM. I was dumbfounded. MANY hundreds of dollars per night, and no $15 frickin' plastic single-serve coffee pot in the room!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I can use those to boil water for tea in a pinch).

I had to scour the priciest real estate in America looking for a way to boil water, and all I found was a stupid immersion coil in a drug store. And then, of course, I had nothing to immerse it in.



The collapsible kettle was $26. I won't be traveling without it, whether by road or by air.

[Lily&Me]

I also always carry a nice mug, as tea and coffee being consumed in a proper method of conveyance are equally important.

My favorite tea and TJ’s instant coffee packets ride inside my mug.

These silicone pots are on sale many places right now for $19.99, and Kohl’s has them for $15.99.


Maggie

[knotdonne]

I make space for both the electric and stovetop collapsible kettles. When my inverter is installed in Dec., I can ditch the stovetop.

[Pahaska]

I bought the second generation folding kettle for $15 + tax for the AI. I boiled two batches of water to get any new taste out of it.

I chose the second generation kettle over the first generation because it appeared that the handle doesn't stick out as far on generation 2.

It does a fast job on one coffee cup and is small enough to stay on the counter when we are parked. It will get some use this week at our Xmas rally in Edna, TX. Forecasts are in the 70s daytime. Nights will be in the high 40s to mid 50s. Great weather for a hot cup of coffee.

[Lily&Me]

I will confess I have ordered the black Gambia.

Not for the Interstate, as I have a little compact teakettle for out there.

But, the Gambia will be very handy for other travel...and, it was on sale.

Maggie